Lighter



Au 14', 1934. HOLT MAN 1,969,847

LIGHTER Filed March 3, 1926 wall. ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 14; 1934LIGHTER John 'Holtzman, New York, N. Y., assignor to Evans Case Company,North Attleboro, Mm, a corporation of Massachusetts Application March 3,1926, Serial No. 91,899

Claims.

This invention relates to lighters, and more particularly to devices forlighting cigars, pipes, cigarettes or the like. I

One of the objects of this invention is to I provide alighter that willbe conveniently acces- V sible for quickly and dependably producing alight.

Another object is to provide a lighter capable of dependable sparkandlight-producing acl0 tion under the control and at the will of theoperator.

Another object is to provide a lighting device of the above-mentionedcharacter having a spark-producing mechanism which can be reliablyactuated by direct manual pressure.

A further feature is in the provision of practical means for producingsparks adapted to ignite a saturated wick, communicating with a supplyof combustible liquid, whereby a flame is produced at will and means fordependably quenching the flame upon the accomplishment of its purposeand preventing evaporation of the liquid, the device being easily andsimply operated by mere finger pressure.

Another object is to provide a lighter that will be of simple, compactand inexpensive construction, of positive and dependable action, andcapable of simple, positive and convenient manipulation in practicaluse. I

Another object is to provide a lighter which may be, if desired, securedto a stand such as an ash tray, but which will be capable of efilcientaction and use when apart from the stand.

Another object is to provide a simple and prac- 5 tical construction forreadily and conveniently replenishing the sparking elements as required.

Another object is to provide a lighter that will be of neat andattractive appearance and well adapted to meet the requirements of hardpractical use.

Other objects will be in part obvious or in part pointed outhereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combination of elements, and arrangementsof parts as will be exemplifiedin the structure to be hereinafter described and the scope of theapplication of which will be indicated in the following claims. In theaccompanying drawing in which is shown an illustrative embodiment of myinvention.

Figure l is a top plan view of an embodiment of the invention asassembled ready for operation;

inafter, may be arranged to be supported in .upright position, as isillustrated in Figure 2 of the drawing, and, for that purpose, I preferto removably secure it to a circular tray or base having a raisedhorizontal flange 10 surrounding an annular channel 11 acting as an ashreceiver, the flange being provided with a plurality of radial concaverecesses 12 in which a cigar may be placed when temporarily at rest. g

Leading upward from the channel 11 is an inclinedwall blending into afiat central plate 13, level with the flange 10 and centrally seatedonthe plate is a cylindrical container 14 having a contracted upperportion leading to a neck '15.

soldered in the lower end of, and forming the bottom of the container 14is an inverted cup 16, its lower flanged edge being level with the loweredge of the container and passing axially through the cup is a tube 1'],closed at its inner, upper end and screw threaded at its outer end,which extends downward through a central opening in the plate 13. p

A wing nut 18 engages thetube below the plate 13 clamping the containerfirmly but removably thereon, the nut being proportioned to clear thesurface on which the tray may be placed, and it is to be understood thatthe tube 17, cup 16 and container 14 are fixedly united by liquid tightjoints. Removably engaged in the neck 15 is a cylinder 19 to extendthereabove and passing through the cylinder is a tube 20 reaching downinto the container 14 and acting as a guide and support for a wick21,which extends into a combustible liquid such as alcohol, in thecontainer, to be conveyed by capillary action to the point of ignitionabove the cylinder 19, the ensemble constituting a form of torch as willbe seen.

Fixed on the upper extending portion of the cylinder 19 is a short tube22, resting on the neck 15, rigidly supporting a frame consisting of apair of opposed, outwardly curved embracing arms 23 formed from a singleplate of metal.

The rear ends 24 of these plate arms are curved downwardly and securedbetween th is a spacer 25 terminating in a down turned, twardlyextending finger grip 26, the inner e of the spacer makin contact withthe tube 22 and is held rigidly by rivets 27 between the plate ends.

Immediately above the spacer 25 are registering openings 28 formed inthe plate arms and operating conjunctively therewith is a shear blade29, carried by a lever 30, the point of the blade moving through a slot31 in the spacer 25.

The lever 30 is pivoted on a pin 32 set in ears 33 extending upward fromthe plate ends 24, the outer end of the lever terminating in a fingerpiece portion 34, opposed to the grip 26, for convenience of operation.The lever 30 is offset as at 35 and carries, preferably attached to theoffset portion 35 thereof, a cap 56 which, when the lever is in theposition shown in full lines in Figure 2, covers the upper exposed endof the wick 21 (see also Figure 3).

The opposite inner portion of the lever 30 is offset outwardly, as at35, and formed into a segmental rack 36 having teeth on its outer edgeto engage a pinion 37 fixed on a spindle 38, mounted in lugs 39 raisedfrom the forward doubled portion of the plate arms 23 above theirconnecting member 40.

On the outer end of the spindle 38 is a fixed washer 41, acting as aguide for the rack 36, the opposite side of which is movable in contactwith the outer surface of the adjacent plate arm.

A coiled tension spring 42, fixed at one end to one of the rivets 27, isattached to the lever 30 in such manner as to retain the finger pieceportion 34 in a raised position and the rack lowered, as shown in Figure2.

Fixed to rotate with the spindle 38, when the rack is actuated torevolve the pinion 3'7, is a disc 43 disposed between the lugs 39 andloosely mounted on the disc is a ring 44 having sharply formed ratchetteeth to constitute an abrader.

In order to rotate the abrader in one direction only the disc 43 iscutaway to present a cam outline 45 and a sphere 46 disposed in thespace between the cam and inner peripheral surface of the abrader, thesphere being pressed into, engaging position by a fine compressionspring 47 set in a recess in the disc.

Thus as the finger piece portion 34 is pressed downwardly, the rack 36,by reason of the pinion 37, will transmit rotary motion to the disc in adirection to cause the sphere to engage the abrader and cause it to turnin clockwise direction, as viewed in Figures 2 and 3; however, uponrelease of the finger piece portion, and its return to its initialposition by the pull of the spring 42, the disc will rotate in theopposite direction and fail to convey motion to the abrader, as thesphere 46 will move into the wider portion of the cam recess 45, awayfrom the abrader which thus remains stationary due to its contact with apiece of sparking or pyrophoric material 48.

This material, in the form of a short cylinder, is carried in a tube 49,held between the plate arm elements 39 and extending downwardtherebelow.

These sparking material elements may be entered through an opening 50 inthe tube, the same registering with openings 51 in the plate arms andthe element being used is pressed against the abrader by a plug 52 actedupon by a compression spring 53 disposed in the tube 49, the outer endof which is partially closed.

Fixed in the plug 52 is a rod 54 extending outwardly through the end ofthe tube and having on its outer end a ball 55 used as a handle inretracting the plug when replacing a used sparking element with a freshone.

A supply of such sparking elements may be carried in the reservoir tube17, the same being accessible by releasing the nut 18 whenever desired.

From the foregoing it will be seen that upon depressing the finger pieceportion 34, the cap 56 is swung upwardly to expose the wick end (seedotted line position of member 56 in Figure 2), and the substantiallysimultaneous actuation of the rack 36 causes rotation of the abradermember 44 (in clockwise direction, as viewed in Figures 2 and 3) againstthe sparking material 48, and a series of sparks are directed towardsthe extending end of the wick 21, causing ignition of the .combustibleliquid, the same springing into a flame to be used for such purposes asmay be wanted. 1

Simultaneously a cigar end may be entered in the opening 28 and may beclipped by the blade 29 and, upon release of the handle 34, the cap 56,carried by the offset lever arm 35 descends, effectually snufiing outthe flame and thereafter preventing loss of the liquid fuel byevaporation, as the cap fits tightly against the tube 22. This movementof the lever 30 with its rack 36 from the dotted line position of Figure2 to the full line position shown in Figure 2 is insured by the spring42, as above noted; the rack 36 is thus positioned for subsequentactuation and the spring 42 dependably holds the cap 56 in wick-coveringposition, it being noted that the above-mentioned failure of the disk 43to rotate the abrading member 44 in reverse direction as the rack 36descends insures the dependable return of the parts into a state ofreadiness for subsequent operation.

Although I have described my improvements with considerable detail andwith respect to a preferred form or embodiment of my invention, I do notdesire to be limited to such details since many changes andmodifications may well be made without departing from the spirit andscope of my invention in its broadest aspect. I therefore wish it to beunderstood that all matter hereinbefore set forth or shown in theaccompanying drawing is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A cigar lighter comprising a stand having an upright wick fed torch,a frame on said torch, a lever pivoted on the frame, said lever havingan arcuate rack combined therewith, a spindle mounted in said frame, apinion meshing with said rack, a disc having a cam recess, said pinionand disc being fixed on said spindle, an abrading ring circumjacent saiddisc, means in the cam recess to engage said ring to rotate it in onedirection, and means to resiliently press a piece of pyrophoric materialagainst said abrading ring.

2. A cigar lighter comprising astand having an upright wick fed torch, aframe on said torch, a lever pivoted on the frame, said lever having anarcuate rack combined therewith, a spindle mounted in said frame, apinion driven by said rack, a disc, said disc and pinion being fixed tosaid spindle, an abrader ring journalled on said disc, clutch means insaid disc operative ,to drive the ring in one direction, said meansbeing inoperative in the reverse direction, and

on said lever, an abrader actuated by said rack,

a tube in said frame radial with the abrader, means for charging saidtube with sparking material, means in said tube to press said materialagainst the abrader, and means to control the direction of rotation ofthe abrader to deliver sparks to said wick.

4. A cigar lighter comprising an upright liquid fuel container having awick, a frame fixed on the upper end of said container, a lever pivotedon said frame, an arcuate rack on said lever, an abrader actuated bysaid rack in one direction only, a sparking material tube carried bysaid frame, a spring in said tube to press the material against theabrader, a plug intervening the material and spring, a rod fixed in saidplug by which said plugmay be retracted and astop on said rod to limitthe movement of said plug.

5. In a pyrophoric lighter, in combination, a casing for the lighterhaving bottom and side walls; a member bridging said side walls andclosing said casing, said member having a pair of horizontally spacedmembers, said bridging member being supported by the upper portions ofthe side walls of said casing; a wick tube extending downwardly throughsaid bridging member and having therein a wick which extends downwardlyinto the casing and projects upwardly above said bridging member; a wickcap pivotally supported by said spaced members; an abrading wheelrotatably carried by said spaced members and having sparking materialoperatively related to it; a spring-opposed member manually movable in adownward direction relative to said bridging member for lifting said capand geared to said wheel by one-way driving means including a rotarymember supported by said spaced members, for directly rotating saidwheel in spark-producing direction and a spring to oppose said member,said spring serving to biassaid wick cap into sealing position.

6. A pyrophoric lighter having a casing through the uppermost wall ofwhich a wick p rojects, a wick cap above said uppermost wall and movablein a generally up and down direction to alternately uncover and coversaid wick, an

abrading wheel operatively related to said wick, sparking material belowsaid wheel and resiliently pressed into engagement therewith, said wheelbeing mounted above said uppermost wall, a member mounted above saiduppermost wall and movable in a general up and down direction and havinga spring for urging it in upward direction, said member being manuallydepressible against the action of said spring, and mechanism connectingsaid cap, said wheel and said member, said mechanism acting to giveastroke of movement to said cap for each up and down movement of saidmember and to rotate said wheel only upon each downward movement of fuelcontainer; a pair of spaced members adjacent the top of said container;a wick exposed through the top of said container and in a 'verticalplane which extends intermediate of said spaced members; an abradingwheel and a pinion rotatably supported by said spaced members, saidabrading wheel being mounted, between said spaced members and saidpinion being adjacent one of said spaced members; a pyrophoric elementoperatively related to said wheel; a ratchet connection between saidpinion and said wheel, a rack movable substantially upwardly anddownwardly, meshing with said pinion, said pinion, said rack and saidspaced members being related to each other to maintain the rack andpinion in operative relation; a finger piece portion connected to saidrack and manually movable in a downward direction for actuating saidrack, said ratchet connection driving said wheel upon movement of saidfinger piece portion in downward direction; spring means for opposingactuation of said finger piece portion in downward direction and forreturning the latter in upward direction; and a wick cap mounted to belifted off of thewick in response to actuation of said rack inwheel-driving direction and to be returned to wick-covering position inresponse to actuation by said spring means of said rack in reversedirection.

8. In a pyrophoric lighter, in combination, a tube open at its upperend, a coiled spring wholly disposed in said tube, a plug of pyrophoricmaterial located in said tube at the top thereof and above said spring,means onthe other end of said tube facilitating the ready removal andreplacement of said pyrophoric material, an abrasive wheel located overthe top of said tube and in contact with said pyrophoric material anaxis pin for supporting said abrasive wheel substantially over the topof said tube, a one- 115 way driving device for said abrasive wheellocated on said axis pin, a gear wheel alsolocated on said axis pin, aconnection between said gear wheel and said one-way driving device, arack in mesh with said gear wheel, a finger piece rigidly connected tosaid rack and having a portion thereof mounted for downward movement tooperate said rack, spring means to urge the operating portion of saidfinger piece upwardly, a wick. projecting upwardly adjacent saidabrading wheel with the wick, wheel and operating portion of the fingerpiece in line,- a wick tube for said wick, a receptacle for fuelmounting all of said parts, a snuffer cap adapted to coact with the topof said wick tube and having a hollow portion to receive said wick andpivotally mounted for movement upward from said wick tube, meansproviding a seat about the upper end of said wick tube against whichsaid snufier cap may seat, and a connection between 135 the operatingportion of finger piece and said snuifer cap whereby when said operatingportion spring means holds said snuffer cap against said seat-providingmeans to seal fuel in the receptacle when said snuffer cap is down.

9. In a pyrophoric lighter, in combination, a receptacle for fuel, anopen top and free bottom tube immovably affixed to said receptacle withthe axis of its top portion substantially vertical, a coiled springwholly within said tube,

a plug of pyrophoric material in said tube and partly projecting fromthe open top thereof, an

abrasive wheel in contact with said pyrophoric material and over thetopof said tube, an axis pin. for said abrasive wheel perpendicular to theaxis of the top of said tube for supporting said wheel substantiallyover the top of said tube, means on the bottom of said tube andavailable without disassembly of the lighter for shifting said spring toremove and replace the pyrophoric material, a pair of flat members inparallel vertical planes attached to said receptacle mounting wardly, awick tube having a wick projecting into said snufier when said snufferis closed, said wick tube extending into said receptacle, whereby upondownward movement of said finger piece portion said abrasive wheel isrotated to throw sparks upon said wick as said snuffer moves upwardly inline with said wick tube and then swings away therefrom, the plane ofthe pivotal movement of the snuffer being between the plane of the pairof fiat members and parallel to them and intersecting the abrasivewheel, the wick and the finger piece portion and the first-named tube.

10. In a pyrophoric lighter, incombination, a fuel container; a pair ofspaced members adjacent the top of said container; a wick tube extendingdownwardly through the top of said container and having therein a wickwhich extends downwardly into the container and projects upwardly abovethe top of the container; a snufier cap adapted to coact with the upperend of said wick tube and having a hollow portion to receive said wick,said wick tube having means forming a seat thereabout against which saidsnufier cap may seat, thereby to seal said wick against exposure; amember pivotally supported by said spaced members and carrying saidsnuffer cap for angular movement upwardly away from said wick tube toexpose said wick or downwardly into engagement with said seatformingmeans; anabrading wheel rotatably carried between said spaced membersand having sparking material operatively related to it, said pivotedsnuffer-carrying member being geared to said abrading wheel by one-waydriving means including a rotary toothed member supported by said spacedmembers and a rack member depending from said snuffer-carrying memberand engaging said rotary-toothed member; a movable finger pieceoperatively connected to said snufler-carrying member for actuating thelatter in response to manual pressure applied to said finger piece,thereby to move said snuffercarrying member upwardly away from said wicktube to uncover the wick and therewith to move said rack member upwardlyand effect sparkproducing rotation of said wheel, thereby to ignite thewick; and a spring opposing said finger piece and serving to bias saidsnuffer cap into sealing engagement with said seat.

JOHN HOLTZMAN.

